Why is supplier diversity important

This article explains a few strategies to reduce and steer clear of supply chain disruptions. Find more here.



To avoid taking on costs, various businesses start thinking about alternative routes. As an example, because of long delays at major worldwide ports in a few African states, some companies encourage shippers to build up new paths as well as conventional routes. This plan identifies and utilises other lesser-used ports. In the place of counting on just one major port, when the shipping business notice hefty traffic, they redirect products to more effective ports across the coastline and then transport them inland via rail or road. Based on maritime experts, this strategy has many advantages not only in alleviating stress on overwhelmed hubs, but additionally in the financial development of growing regions. Business leaders like AD Ports Group CEO would likely accept this view.

In supply chain management, interruption within a route of a given transport mode can significantly affect the whole supply chain and, at times, even bring it to a halt. As a result, company leaders like P&O Ferries CEO and Maersk CEO work hard to add flexibility in the mode of transportation they depend on in a proactive way. As an example, some businesses utilise a flexible logistics strategy that depends on multiple modes of transport. They encourage their logistic partners to mix up their mode of transport to add all modes: trucks, trains, motorcycles, bicycles, ships and even helicopters. Investing in multimodal transportation techniques such as a combination of rail, road and maritime transport and even considering different geographical entry points minimises the vulnerabilities and risks related to depending on one mode.

Having a robust supply chain strategy might make companies more resilient to supply-chain disruptions. There are two main types of supply management problems: the very first is due to the supplier side, specifically supplier selection, supplier relationship, supply planning, transportation and logistics. The second one deals with demand management issues. These are issues related to product introduction, product line administration, demand preparation, item prices and promotion planning. So, what typical methods can businesses adopt to enhance their capability to sustain their operations each time a major interruption hits? In accordance with a current study, two strategies are increasingly proving to work each time a interruption takes place. The first one is referred to as a flexible supply base, and the second one is named economic supply incentives. Although a lot of in the market would argue that sourcing from the single supplier cuts expenses, it can cause problems as demand varies or when it comes to a disruption. Hence, depending on multiple suppliers can alleviate the danger related to single sourcing. Having said that, economic supply incentives work when the buyer provides incentives to cause more companies to enter the market. The buyer could have more flexibility this way by moving production among manufacturers, particularly in areas where there is a small number of suppliers.

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